1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flow control valves, and in particular, to flow control valves used to control stormwater, irrigation water or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In many municipalities, heavy downpours of rain often result in street flooding and sewage treatment plant overload. The sewage treatment plants could be overloaded or flooded by short duration, heavy rainfall. During this rainfall, valves or gates must be closed, either partially or fully, to limit the flow of water into the processing plant. The flow restriction xe2x80x9cbacks upxe2x80x9d the water in the upstream piping or drainage ditch. When the heavy rainfall subsides, this stored water is released under controlled conditions, by adjusting the valves or gates to achieve the desired, restricted flow. However, conventional methods of controlling stormwater influent typically use valves or gates that require an external energy source to operate. For example, these valves or gates may be manual, electric, pneumatic or hydraulic.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide passive control of high flow fluids, such as stormwater runoff, requiring no outside operating assistance. It is another object of the present invention to provide automatic flow control that does not utilize any external energy source to open or close the controller. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a flow control valve that holds back a surge of an initial heavy downpour of rain, resulting in excessive stormwater during a storm, yet still allows drainage of either a drainage ditch or a stormwater line at a reduced rate. It is a further object of the present invention to automatically provide reduced flow after a storm without any external energy source required to operate the device.
The present invention is a passive flow control valve having a barrier member, which is positioned between and separates an upstream fluid flow and a downstream fluid flow. At least during high flow conditions, this barrier member prevents any substantial fluid flow around a barrier member perimeter, controlling the flow of fluid. In addition, the present invention includes at least one barrier orifice in the barrier member. The barrier orifice is configured to allow controlled fluid flow through the barrier member during normal fluid flow states, as well as during drastically increased fluid flow states.
The present invention could be used as an in-line addition to a stormwater pipeline, or alternatively, across a stormwater drainage ditch. Further, the present invention may be utilized to control fluid flow in an irrigation ditch.
The present invention, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with the additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of exemplary embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.